(EASTLAKE, Ohio) — On Saturday afternoon, the Lake Erie College baseball team played its second consecutive doubleheader at Classic Park against Kentucky Wesleyan. In the first game Saturday, the Panthers topped the Storm by a score of 6-4. And in the second game, KWU won 14-2.

GAME 1

In the first game of the day, which was only scheduled to go seven innings (as was the second game), Lake Erie got out to a nice 4-0 lead, thanks in large part to designated hitter Reed Collins' three-run home run in the bottom of the third inning. Collins played quite well, finishing 3-4 with three RBI.

But in the fifth inning, Kentucky Wesleyan roared back to life, behind a three-run home run of their own by first baseman Joseph Burke. That narrowed the Storm lead to one, before a passed ball later in the inning tied things up.

The score would remain deadlocked at four through seven innings, with each team's starting pitcher being removed after five innings (Seth Wright for KWU and Cade Wendel for LEC), before a relief would come in for each team to pitch two near-spotless innings (Bo Robison for KWU and Ryan Lally for LEC). And that would send things into extra innings.

In the top of the eighth inning though, Storm pitcher allowed two runs, to give the Panthers a two-run lead. The first run came on an RBI single by Lane Kennemore, before an error at shortstop allowed a second run across later in the inning. Then in the bottom of the eighth, Drake Hamil came in and ended the Storm's shot at a comeback, earning a save and giving Kentucky Wesleyan a 6-4 victory.

GAME 2

The second game was a bit less intense than the first one on Saturday afternoon, at least on the Storm's end. Defeating Lake Erie by a score of 14-2, Kentucky Wesleyan's bats came out in full force in this one. Panthers first baseman Joseph Burke led the charge, hitting two home runs and grabbing four RBI. Center fielder Cody Bridges reached base five times, three times on hits and twice on walks. He also came around to score three times. Designated hitter Jaret Humphrey went 2-4 with a double and an RBI, and in addition to Humphrey and Burke, six other Panthers batters registered RBI in the game.

For the Storm, there wasn't much to write home about. The lone shining star was once again Reed Collins, who belted his second homer in as many games, this time a two-run shot. But that would be the extent of the Storm's scoring in this one, as Panthers starting pitcher Benton McGill was able to stifle any rallies Lake Erie attempted to mount. McGill would end up going six innings, allowing the two runs on four hits, walking one. Then Ike Speiser took to the mound in the bottom of the seventh to finish the series off with a clean inning.

Lake Erie wound up going through six pitchers over seven innings, with four giving up at least three runs each. Starting pitcher Tristan Meyer didn't allow any runs, but he was taken out with two outs in the first inning after only throwing 22 pitches. Chris Mutter also pitched one inning of scoreless ball in the sixth inning.

After going 0-4 at home in this series against Kentucky Wesleyan, the Storm look to bounce back next weekend, when they host four against Trevecca Nazarene. The first game in that series is scheduled to take place on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. EST.